How to recognise the first symptoms of menopause?
Booting your periods out of your life is what teenage dreams are made of. For that matter what all of your dreams up until menopause are made of. The promise of freedom from the monthly headache might propel you to keep an eye out for the first symptoms of menopause as soon as your 40s rise over the hill, rushing towards you at rocket speed.
Signs of going through menopause might be different for every woman. The menopause symptoms are usually prominent enough to announce their arrival all on their own. But just in case it’s unclear there are blood tests for menopause diagnosis. The diagnosis of menopause by labs is usually quite accurate, and can put your mind to rest.
In the beginning menopause symptoms might introduce themselves into your life anywhere from your 40s till your 60s. There is a possibility of it entering your life prematurely. It is considered early menopause if you start your menopause between 40 to 45. If it starts even earlier it is considered premature menopause.
Premature anything can be a disappointment.
Premature menopause
symptoms can start due
to a number of reasons. Some of these reasons might include defects in your chromosomes. These are usually referred to as Turner syndrome. Others might be caused by autoimmune diseases such as thyroid disease which might lead to a curbing of your periods before their time.
Beginning menopause symptoms prematurely
might have its roots in the surgical removal of the
ovaries known as an
Oophorectomy or removal of your entire uterus which is known as a Hysterectomy. Therapies used in cancer treatments such as radiation therapy can also trigger premature menopause symptoms. It is advisable to get tested if you have had a break from your periods for more than 3 months. If you’re under 40 and your periods have been elusive, it could be early or premature menopause. If not, the tests can help you determine the right cause
by process of elimination.
Oestrogen and follicle-stimulating hormone (Fsh), are some of the markers or indicators used by doctors to determine if you’re in menopause yet. Early menopause can make you vulnerable to various diseases such as osteoporosis, as well as heart disease. Knowing that you’re susceptible to such diseases might help you catch them at the earliest and manage their symptoms.
Get A Physical Exam
As menopause heads into your life, the first symptom of menopause you might notice is the irregularity of your periods. It is important that you keep track of your periods, of their frequency and severity. A visit to the doctor can be easier if you have a clear understanding of your symptoms and can pass on that information to the professional.
Your doctor will need detailed information of the frequency of your periods, plus the symptoms you might be going through like hot flushes, cold flushes, night sweats, insomnia, a change in libido and any other the others you might be a victim to. Although it might be uncomfortable to discuss your private physical, mental and emotional health openly, it is of paramount importance that you do let the doctor know every discomfort you might be going through, big and small. This not only helps them determine if you are suffering from menopause symptoms or the cause lies elsewhere.
Your doctor might also ask about any medications you might be taking. It is best to be honest because the flip side of hiding it could be that any new drugs your doctor prescribes you to ease your menopause symptoms might conflict with your regular medicine and cause side effects.
Menopause symptoms vary from person to person, so does their intensity. It is impossible to find a solution that is guaranteed to work for every person to the same extent. A solution that might provide ultimate relief to someone might make no difference to your hot flushes or might even make them worse. How every woman decides to deal with her menopause symptoms might differ. If you consult a medical professional or your GP or a gynecologist, he might provide a solution customised for your body and needs. A test is usually not required to determine menopause, the first symptoms of menopause are sufficient for the doctor to make their determination if youre in menopause.
A blood test for menopause diagnosis by process of elimination might include an FSH and oestrogen test, a thyroid test, a lipid profile and tests for liver and kidney function.
Hormone Tests
One menopause symptom is a distinct drop in your oestrogen levels and an increase in your FSH levels. So these are the first indicators the doctors look for when they are determining if it is the beginning of menopause.
Along with this your GP might also prescribe a thyroid- stimulating hormone (tsh) test. It is to clarify if you are experiencing menopause symptoms of suffering from hypothyroidism, which has similar symptoms. Another test, known as PicoAMH Elisa test, helps identify if your symptoms are the menopausal kind.
Following Diagnosis
After determining if you’re indeed in the throes of your menopause symptoms, comes the part of learning how to manage them, or in some cases how to best live with them. Menopause is a phase of life that every woman goes through. It is as natural as evolution. So there is not a cure all for it’s symptoms, if that is what you were hoping for. But if your menopause symptoms are hampering your ability to live a normal life, or a rather evolved version of normalcy, there are ways in which you can reduce the severity of your symptoms.
A consult with your doctor can introduce you to the treatment options available to you. However if your menopause symptoms aren’t severe, the doctor might not prescribe any treatment. Supplements are the support that helps you navigate the labyrinth of menopause symptoms and keep you afloat. Especially ones like Evening Primrose Oil is recommended due to its various beneficial properties in providing relief from several menopause symptoms. Certain medications and hormone therapies also help retain the quality of your life.
While the symptoms and the severity differs from person to person, a few lifestyle changes are all that is needed usually to manage your menopause symptoms. Wrecking your normal life as you know it is a specialty of menopause symptoms. Sleep and sex flies like superman, right out of the window. None of your clothes fit, and irritability seems like the flavour of the day, everyday.
So here are some changes you can make in your lifestyle to make your ride through menopause a smooth one.
Diet
You might have been able to sustain yourself on a well balanced diet of fast food and takeout. As long as you garnished it with a few veggies, it might have felt sufficient to retain a normal functioning of your body. It might also have helped you hover at least somewhere close to your goal weight. Of course, it was nothing like your 20s, but 30s didn’t treat you too poorly either. Welcome now to your age of menopause. Slacking off just wont work. And the fast food you consume will be just as fast to leave it’s bulge on your body.
Not to say that you have to refrain from it entirely. But the majority of your plate has to be a home for your veggies and other healthy food. You might actually grow to love it as you realise how much energy you have and how good you feel, now that your nourishing your body the right way.
Also talk to your doctor about menopause supplements to maintain a well balanced nutritious intake of vitamins and minerals that your body craves more of courtesy of menopause symptoms.
Exercise
Accompanying your diet strolls in the need to exercise. It is very easy to fall into the loop of menopause symptoms draining your energy leading to you not exercising, which in turn leads to weight gain, which saps your energy even more. So might wake up one day to find yourself to be a lump of zero energy.
This circle not only affects your physical state but also your mental and emotional one.
It is of paramount importance to stick to an exercise routine. You don’t need to push yourself to the state of exhaustion. But indulging in jogging, brisk walking, swimming, or any activity you might enjoy, will help you safely skirt the trappings laid out by menopause symptoms.
Revitalise your sex life
Lube it up! Your vagina is prone to dryness due to a fall in the levels of oestrogen. This might make sex painful and uncomfortable, instead of the enjoyable experience it must be. Water based lubricants can help ease this problem by leaps and bounds.
Plus you do not need a prescription as lubricants are over the counter, and quite safe for daily usage.
Hot Flushes
A lot of women experience hot flushes as the first symptoms of menopause in varying degrees of severity. Cold water or going to a place that is cooler is recommended till the hot flush passes. It is also advisable to avoid alcohol and caffeine. Smoking does you no favours either.
These are the triggers that might increase the frequency and severity of hot flushes and might make it really hard to sleep at night, adding to the already prevalent insomnia.
Ageing kicks your arse first. Then in walks menopause to piss on the carcass of your previously considered normal life. Menopause symptoms might feel like the end of everything you knew about your mind, body and life. But it doesn’t have to be that way. First symptoms of menopause when confirmed can be handled by making simple changes in your lifestyle, choices and mindset. It’s all about evolving into your new idea of normal. The best is yet to come.
Read More
How Do You Recognise The Early Stages Of Menopause?
Let’s break this down for the ones already flirting with menopause and sweating your balls off while reading this, and for the ones spying on the menopause symptoms with a long telescope, watching in fascinated horror as the sweaty, hot flushy creature pulls women under.